Timeline within universe
This is a timeline of the events that happen within the Everybody Loves Raymond universe. 1902 January 23 - Uncle Gustafavio "Gus" Beiperceilu is born. ("I Wish I Were Gus") 1900s-1920s Frank's family, except for Aunt Sarina, comes to America in a sardine boat from Sicily, and adopts the name Barone. ("Mia Famiglia") 1932? Francis Oscar "Frank" Barone is born. (65th birthday in "The Gift ", 1997. However, later in "Debra Makes Something Good", he says he is 64, putting his birth year around 1935-1936.) 1930s December 9 - Marie Janella Barone is born. ("Finale") 1940 Marie and Aunt Coletta see each other for the last time, until "Italy" 60 years later. 1950-1953 Frank fights in the Korean War, which serves as the source for many of his anecdotes. He and some men from his unit stop over in Hawaii on their way back. ("What's With Robert?") 1955 Frank tastes Marie's braciole in 1955, and asks her to marry him. Marie also says that that braciole dish was the first thing she ever cooked for Frank. ("Debra Makes Something Good") However, in "Jealous Robert", Frank talks of how when they were dating, his love of Marie's cooking caused him to come running back to her after he heard that she was cooking for Chuck Pecorella. So it's possible that Marie turns down the proposal over the braciole dish, but they continued dating, nearly broke up but got back together through the Pecorella incident, until Marie accidentally gets pregnant. 1955-1956? Frank and Marie are dating and she starts pressuring him into getting engaged, but he refuses. Marie then plans to cook for Chuck Pecorella, who is gay, in order to get Frank to realize his feelings. The plan works, and Frank ends up putting his fist through Pecorella's DeSoto headlight, and decides that Marie will cook only for him. ("Jealous Robert") 1957 September - Frank and Marie get married after Marie gets pregnant. (46 years of marriage in "Misery Loves Company", Oct 2003, and "Whose Side Are You On?", Feb 2004. Marriage was in September as mentioned by Robert from "Good Girls".) 1958? April 6 - Robert Charles Barone is born, but his birthday is celebrated in June up until "Good Girls". Robert is 43 in "Young Girl" from 2000, however. And he was 11 in 1967, according to "The Game", moving his birth year back up to 1956. 1959-1961? Raymond Albert Barone is born. (He is 29 years in "The Wedding, Part 1 and 2", and if the wedding was in 1988 going by other timelines, he would have a birth year of around 1959. However, if they got married in 1990 as implied by the 10-year anniversary taking place in 2000, Ray would be born in 1961, which also fits better with the narrative of him being four years younger than Robert. However, according to "High School", Ray graduates from high school in 1977, so if he was 18 at graduation, his birth year would be around 1959.) 1959-1960? Aunt Coletta's first husband, Dario, dies over 40 years before "Italy". According to her, he resembles Burt Lancaster. She later remarries to Giorgio. 1964? Debra Whelan is born. (Supposedly 32 in "Pilot", 1996.) 1965? Amy Louise MacDougal is born. (33 in "Good Girls", 1998.) 1964-1966? Marie holds Ray back in preschool for another year before kindergarten. ("Left Back") 1965-1967? Frank and Marie split up for a year. Ray is 6 and Robert is 10. ("Anniversary") 1967 On a rainy day in 1967, an 11-year-old Robert finds his boots are nowhere to be found, and he blames Ray for having taken them. But later, in "The Game", Ray deduces it was Frank who took the boots. 1969 When Robert is 13 and 6'5", his basketball coach calls him the "useless giraffe". ("Ally's F") 1971-1972? Frank gifts Raymond a fake autographed Mickey Mantle baseball. Robert gets a Shamsky one. (25 years before "The Ball", where it is also mentioned Ray was 10.) 1973-1975? Frank and Marie give 14-year-old Ray the talk on both sex and Santa. ("The Ball") 1975-1979? In high school, Ray fails his French class, taught by Monsieur LeFevre. ("Ally's F") 1977 Ray graduates from Hillcrest High in 1977, according to "High School". This does not seem to fit in with that Ray appears to still be in high school in 1978-1979. Summer - Shortly after graduation, Ray's classmate Jay Malone dies in a car wreck, and everyone else thinks it was Ray who died. ("High School") 1977-1979 Frank and Marie go to Florida and Ray has a party at home. ("Pants on Fire") Ray also has a fake ID at age 17, with the name of Ahmed Abdullah Khan ("The Car"), and sneaks out often at night ("The Disciplinarian"). Ray loses his virginity to Lisa Constantine in the Valiant, 'Lucky'. ("The Car") According to "The Disciplinarian", Ray and Robert go to a Jethro Tull concert, and Robert throws up the next morning from some peppermint schnapps he stole from Frank's liquor cabinet. Ray has shoulder-length hair, and Robert has an Afro during this time. ("The Car") Sam Gilula works as a teenager at Pelk Accounting, and Frank is a mentor to him. (25 years before "The Mentor") 1977-1982? Robert, just out of high school, joins the police force. ("Security") If he graduated high school at age 18 or 19, this would be around 1976-1977. (According to "Snow Day", Robert never attended college.) In "Lucky Suit", in early 2002 it is revealed he has been with NYPD for 19 years, so he would have joined around 1982. 1981 Debra graduates from high school. (Her 20th reunion is four years after Ray's, in 2001, according to "High School".) 1982 Ray's girlfriend Karen breaks up with him, and he keeps the breakup tape. ("The Breakup Tape") 1982-1986? In college, Debra goes to Mardi Gras and takes off her top, which ends up in the Daily News on page seven. ("The Disciplinarian") 1984? Ray and Debra meet and start dating. (15 years before "How They Met") 1984-1986? According to "The Disciplinarian", a 25-year-old Ray had a girl in his room at the Poconos. 1987? Ray and Debra first have sex. (15 years before "The First Time") Ray first proposes to Debra. She turns him down. ("When I proposed, you were 23. You said no." - "Pilot") 1987-1988? Ray proposes to Debra for the second time. ("Then I proposed, you were 24." "No again. Right." "Then I took a year off to regroup." - "Pilot") 1989 February 14 - Ray proposes to Debra after becoming a columnist for Newsday. (Valentine's Day from "Diamonds", 10 years before "The Wedding, Part 1 and 2") Debra replaces the stone in the ring with her grandmother's stone. ("Diamonds") June 17 - Ray and Debra marry. (13 years before "Counseling") Also, this was seven years before "I Wish I Was Gus", establishing the year as 1989. 1991 Debra is pregnant with Ally. Robert meets Joanne and they start dating. ("Ally's Birth") December - Marie sends out a family Christmas letter that Robert regrets, and keeps a copy of for the next ten years. ("Season's Greetings") 1991-1992? Ally is born. Robert proposes to Joanne after about six months dating. ("I've been dating Joanne for about six months now, and I think that I just might have found my Debra. So after careful deliberation, I have decided that I'm going to ask her..." - "Ally's Birth") Robert and Joanne marry. 1992-1996? Frank is fired from Pelk Accounting, which he passes off as his retirement, according to "Frank Paints the House". He 'retires' after 1991, according to "Season's Greetings", and before 1996, when the first season of the show starts. 1994 Debra is pregnant with twins. Ray and Debra buy the house (320 Fowler, Lynbrook, Long Island, NY) across the street from Frank and Marie. (3 years before "Why Are We Here?") Bernie and Linda marry, as they have been married for two years in "I Love You". December 25 - Robert gifts Ray and Debra the game Scruples for Christmas, which they never play until two years later. ("The Game") 1995? Ray and Debra just moved across the street, and the twins are born. Debra cuts her hair short. (She has longer hair in all the flashbacks, except for the one of Robert and Joanne's marriage ending.) Robert and Joanne's marriage ends. (5 years before "Robert's Divorce") Robert stops keeping a mustache. 1996 First season starts. Ally is five at beginning. Uncle Gus dies at 94. ("I Wish I Were Gus") Robert has been divorced for a year now. November 28 - Debra cooks a fish for Thanksgiving. ("Turkey or Fish") December 25 - Frank and Robert both dress up as Santa for Ally, after Ray vows never to lie to his kids again. ("The Ball") 1997 In "Who's Handsome?", Robert and Amy meet for the first time. February 14 - On Valentine's Day, Robert gets Amy an iguana. ("Diamonds") The wallpaper in Ray and Debra's living room gets changed from a diamond pattern to stripes, between Season 1 and 2. September - Frank and Marie have their 40th wedding anniversary. ("Anniversary") Ray gets Frank an aquarium for his 65th birthday. ("The Gift") Ray and Debra go to Ray's 20th reunion. ("High School") December 25 - Ray tries to get some alone time with Debra. ("All I Want for Christmas") 1998 October 31 - Frank gives out condoms for Halloween. ("Halloween Candy") November 26 - Marie tries a no-fat Thanksgiving. ("No Fat") December 25 - Ray gives out a toaster for Christmas. ("The Toaster") 1999 November 25 - The Barones and Amy have Thanksgiving together, and Amy invites Debra to cook with her and Marie on Sunday. ("No Thanks") November 28 - Debra tries laughing off Marie's remarks during the cooking of Marie's turkey tortellini day. Ray, Robert, and Frank go to a car show. December - Ray tries to get the family together for a Christmas picture. ("The Christmas Picture") 2000 Robert gets injured by a rodeo bull. ("Robert's Rodeo") Ray and Debra celebrate their 10-year anniversary. Debra finds out he taped over their wedding video. ("The Tenth Anniversary") (However, it is snowing outside, which does not fit in with the wedding date of June 17.) April 6 - Robert is cranky on his birthday. ("Someone's Cranky") The Barones go on a two-week trip to Italy. ("Italy, Part 1 and 2") November 23 - Debra's parents fight over Thanksgiving. December 25 - Ray gets Debra a huge gift for Christmas, but it backfires when she gets him a DVD player. ("Christmas Present") 2001 January 28 - Ray goes to the Super Bowl with Gianni, but later invites Debra over too. February 14 - Over Valentine's Day dinner, Ray and Debra realize they have nothing to say to each other anymore. ("Silent Partners") Debra's parents separate. ("The Separation") At Marie's birthday, she and Frank fight over Marco. ("Odd Man Out") (Marie's birthday is on December 6, according to "Finale", but this episode takes place before the season's Thanksgiving episode.) November 22 - At Thanksgiving, Warren brings a date (Emma) to Thanksgiving dinner. December 16-17? - Debra finds out Marie is sending out a Christmas letter that makes her look bad. ("Season's Greetings", date possibly from Ray greeting her with "Hey, eight-maids-a-milkin'", and as this is shortly before Christmas, Ray was likely referring to it being eight days until Christmas. Debra responds with, "You gonna do this every night until Christmas? Can't we just cut to "partridge in a pear tree" and be done with it?") December 25 - After Marie and Debra write a Christmas letter that causes rifts in the family, the Barones spend Christmas mocking other people's Christmas letters. ("Season's Greetings") 2002 May 12 - On Mother's Day, tensions arise between Marie and Debra. ("Mother's Day") November 26 - After dinner, the others note Marie having trouble seeing. ("Marie's Vision") November 27 - Marie comes home from the optometrist with glasses, and comments on Ray's grey hair and Debra's eyelashes. ("Marie's Vision") November 28 - At Thanksgiving, everyone is self-conscious over their looks after Marie's comments. ("Marie's Vision") December 6 - The boys fight over Ray paying more for Marie's birthday gift. Debra comments that he puts more thought into gifts for Marie. ("The Thought That Counts") December 25 - After consulting with Robert and Amy, Ray gets Debra a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" for Christmas. Robert goes with Marie's suggestion to get Amy tickets to the Ice Capades. ("The Thought That Counts") 2003 Robert proposes to Amy. April 9 - Robert and Amy marry. ("Spring wedding, fancy-schmancy, eight busboys." "It's the ninth, not the sixth!" "There's going to be nude people. At the church! On a Wednesday!" - "The Plan".) Robert and Amy honeymoon in Italy. ("Fun with Debra") Robert and Amy have their three-month anniversary. ("Misery Loves Company") July - Debra tells Amy that Raymond thought Robert and Amy's marriage didn't have a chance in hell. ("Blabbermouths") Lois and Ray plan a surprise party for Debra's birthday, but she figures it out. ("The Surprise Party") November 27 - At Thanksgiving at the MacDougals, the Barones and MacDougals argue when Pat puts an injured bird out of its misery. ("The Bird") December 24 - On Christmas Eve, Ray tries to get Frank to listen to CDs of his old jazz records. Robert gives Frank vinyl records, and it turns out Robert was the one that ruined Frank's old jazz records. ("Jazz Records") 2004 The day before the ESPY awards, Ray and Debra argue over her being late, and the night of the awards, Ray leaves without her when her curling iron gets stuck in her hair at the last minute. ("Lateness") April 6 - On his birthday, Robert can't decide over being a cop or an alarm salesman. ("Security") April 11 - Ray and Pat bond over a jigsaw puzzle at Easter. ("The Nice Talk") Frank and Marie buy a condominium in New Jersey, but are kicked out of the retirement community. ("The Home" and "Not So Fast") November 25 - At Thanskgiving, everyone finds out that Warren and Lois are having post-divorce sex. ("Debra's Parents") 2005 At Amy's birthday, the family finds out that Pat smokes. ("Pat's Secret")